SOWETAN | Jacob Zuma a narcissist bitter old man

On December 16, the nation watched as Jacob Zuma resuscitated a political career that was pretty much on its last legs. 

Since then, Zuma has been hard on the campaign trail under his new outfit, the MK party, whose brand opportunistically leeches off the legacy of his old home, the ANC. 

ANC leaders are seething, more at what they view as his betrayal after all they have done to sanitise and shield him from accountability throughout his disastrous presidency. 

For the ordinary South African, Zuma’s onslaught against the ANC is inconsequential. If anything, it’s par for the course. 

What must concern us is his attack against our democracy and our constitutional order. 

Zuma’s campaign goes beyond his newfound criticism of the ANC. It is about turning his followers against institutions of our democracy and the very constitution he swore to uphold when he took office more than a decade ago. 

He has lied about the IEC, claiming that elections are not transparent. 

He is silent as his supporters perpetuate the lie that his inability to stand for another term as head of state is because of some grand political conspiracy rather than the dictates of the law. 

Like a power-hungry demagogue, he has called for the changing of the law to allow him to have a third bite at the presidential cherry.

He has lied about Parliament, claiming traditional leaders are not consulted when laws are enacted. 

He continues to lie about the judiciary, claiming they are a construct of global powers and that our constitution is not a legitimate legal framework to which we all must adhere. 

His delusions must be rejected. They have nothing to do with the the development of black people – as he claims. 

Zuma is a bitter old man, trapped in a narcissistic, alternative world in which he is owed endless exaltation by our country for reasons known only to him. 

The danger of his campaign is that he is rallying up his followers to invalidate and attack our democratic order and its institutions. 

He is intentionally sowing seeds of discontent, populism and stoking a rejection of any electoral outcome that does not serve his ambitions. 

Zuma is free to revive whatever is left of his political career. But his desperate attempts to plunge this country into anarchy must wholly be rejected.